Starting to feel the need to nest

37 and 1/2 weeks along now and I'm ready to organize this house from head to toe. Not just organize, but get renovations finished and things looking pretty:) We're in the middle of our kitchen renovation right now and the house is a total wreck. Tomorrow they are putting in the countertops and doing the backsplash. We picked out a faucet, sink and hardware, so now we just need to pick out lighting.

Kitchen lighting: I love this one. 

I searched for a while to figure out what kind of fixture it's called. 

Evidently it's called a schoolhouse ceiling light.

 

Here's the light I found that I love. The price is a little steep at $80...

  

After more research I found this one. Only $25 at Lowes. It will probably 

work better anyway since the ceiling in our kitchen is a bit low.

After the kitchen is complete I will feel much better and not as frantic about the house being "incomplete" before the baby arrives. Tomorrow we're going to clean from top to bottom, organize all other areas of the house and hang more pictures. That will help make the house to feel more like our home. Here are some other ideas that have been floating around in my head lately:

Framed fabric. I think this would look great in the living room.

Definitely not this color, but I do enjoy the design.

I've realized our coffee table weighs a lot and takes up too much space. 

We're going to trade it out for something more functional like this.

The only problem is I want to have something more colorful. So hopefully my 

oh-so-creative MIL will help me make slipcovers:

http://www.designsponge.com/2010/03/sewing-101-ottoman-slip-cover.html

 We'll see how much we get done in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully we can get a good head start this weekend! Wish us luck:)

Nursery

The last few months have flown by. We've moved into the new house, started renovations, and pretty much finished the nursery. Once we know the gender we'll decorate the walls of baby Graves' room a little more. Here are a few photos of the nursery so far:

 

Glider was a gift from Grandma and Grandpa.

Curtains made by Gigi.

The crib was passed down to us from cousin Chesson. Crib skirt made by Gigi.

 The Winnie the Pooh characters were mine but now I'm passing them down to baby Graves. The photo on the second shelf is Lawton when he was a little one. :)

Gift from Corbin & Byerly. My favorite part of the whole room:)

21 weeks

I know it's been quite a while since we've posted a bump picture, but the last 9-10 weeks haven't been as exciting as the weeks are now. Here's 21 weeks:

I've been feeling really great. Walking every day with Kobe and exercising a lot more. Lawton and I started taking a birth class last week. It's been...interesting, but for the most part it's been educational. It's getting us more and more excited about the arrival of baby Graves!

Our house is currently in the closing process. Just a couple more weeks and we will be homeowners! YAY! Big thanks to our realtor Jamie Goodroe for all her hard work.

12 weeks

This week we had a pretty exciting week. I had a doctor's appointment on Friday and we heard the heartbeat! It was amazing. I could have sat there and listened to it all day.

We also found a house we're putting an offer on! It's only a few miles away from where we are now, so the move would be pretty easy. It's all brick 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The only downside is that is has a pool that needs some work. We actually don't want a pool (yet) so we would probably have the pool removed. It's a good thing we've made some good friends at church who have the proper equipment to remove something like a pool. We'll see what happens. Should have some more news soon on the house!

For now here's the 12 week photo:

August 23, 2011

Our family is expecting a new addition in August, and no it's not another puppy:) Kobe will be the only puppy in our family for a while. Baby Graves is due August 23, 2011. I'm about 12 weeks along now. Here is my belly photo from 11 weeks. I would have put up the 10 week photo, but it doesn't look any different from this one. Not much going on, but hopefully my next photo will be a little more exciting!

2011 Trips

We are very excited about 2011 in our house. We've had A LOT going on recently and are excited for what's to come. One thing we're excited about in particular are all the trips. Here's a list of what's on the calendar so far:

Weddings:

Palazzo Lavaca in Austin, TX

Our friends Hayden and Sean (who went viral: see here) are getting hitched this April here. We're psyched about spending time with old friends and sight seeing in Austin. I'll be celebrating this occasion early at the bride's bachelorette party in New Orleans!

The Warehouse in Tallahassee, FL

Our friends Matthew and Rachel are getting hitched this May in a place that's dear to our hearts, Tallahassee. We met Matthew at our church and became BFF4L right away. Lawton is in the wedding and also gets to go on a bachelor weekend. Look out! We're so excited about going back to Tally to celebrate this amazing couple's life together!

Cliffs at Glassy in Landrum, SC

One of my dear friends from high school, Grace, is getting married here this July. We're so excited for the happy couple and can't wait to celebrate!

We have a couple more wedding here in Jax that we're excited about too! Congrats to Whitaker & Heather and Kim & Mike!

Family Vacations:

Hood River, Oregon

We're pumped about going to see the Chambers family in May! We've recently been planning this trip and can't wait to hang out with family!

And of course we're always excited about seeing our Graves family in Raleigh. Not sure where the destination will be yet, but we'll be seeing one another for sure! You have to make sure you see this family every few months with kids as cute as these:

Here we come 2011!

Thanksgiving.

We enjoyed Thanksgiving this year in Jacksonville. It was a fun filled week with kids, catching up with family and ping pong...lots of ping pong. :)

Here are a few photos of the festivities: